By John Longenecker
What are we really electing in 2008?
I write for the non-gun owners in America. Often, I say is that what it is about guns isn’t even about guns. It is the thesis upon which I base my book, Safe Streets. It is about how we manage our Burdens, beginning with the very first one, Personal Safety, as opposed to assuming that someone else will do it for us (which cannot be done). This presents America with another example germane to the 2008 election for all offices.
In Part I of Guns And 2008, I spoke of how the Candidates have an opportunity to unify Americans by recognizing how we respect one another on various levels when we carry these burdens - from home ownership to parenting to business ownership - and how fighting Crime by recognizing Citizen Authority can be that common ground on an even broader scale. The key, of course, is to understand how 80 Million gun owners and many more non-gun owners understand the concept, and not to try to get constituents to appreciate how officials understand it. Which brings us to part II, wei ji.